Hajj is The Main Pillar of Islam

Hajj is the main Pillar of Islam.

Hajj is the main pillars of Islam. The great pilgrimage to the holy places of the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is held once a year at the beginning of the Muslim lunar month dhou al-hajj and culminates on the eve of the feast of the sacrifice (Eid-El-Adha). On the other hand, the small pilgrimage, or Umrah, can be accomplished throughout the year.

It is compulsory for anyone who has the financial and physical capacity. It is the subject of very great prestige and remains an important factor of unity and exchanges between Muslims around the world who show deep fervor on this occasion. For mystics, the journey to the holy place symbolically constitutes the journey to divine unity.

Pillars of Religion.

The all ritual obligations defined by Islamic law, the "pillars of religion", are:

1.  The profession of faith, (There is no God but Allah and the Muhammad (PBUH) is the last messenger of Allah.)
2. Salat: The five times Prayers in a day.
3. Sawm: Fasting in the whole month of Ramadan.
4. Zakat: Muslims share their wealth to the benefit of poor and needy people.
5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to the holy land of the earth (Mecca). 

Codified stages.

 The hajj has several codified stages:

 "Ihram":

When he arrives in a perimeter fixed around Mecca, the faithful must be purified and wear only pieces of white fabric not sewn for men, while women wear clothes covering the whole body, except for the hands and of the face.

Pilgrims should not scent themselves or cut their hair or nails. They must abstain from all quarrels and all sexual relations.

"Tawâf":

On his arrival in Mecca, the pilgrim goes around the Kaaba seven times, around which the Great Mosque was built, and in the direction of which Muslims pray five times a day. If he can, he touches and kisses the black stone encrusted in one of the corners of the Kaaba. But nowadays the Government of Saudi Arabia restricted the pilgrim to touches and kisses the black stone and Galaf-e-Kaaba due to the COVID-19.

"Sa'i":

The faithful must then make the path seven times between Safa and Marwa, 400 meters apart and close to the Great Mosque, in the footsteps of Hajar, wife of the prophet Abraham. According to tradition, she had run between these two places to seek water for her son, the prophet Ismail, until the source of Zamzam sprang at her feet.

Once this ritual has been accomplished, the devotee goes to the Mina valley, five kilometers east of the Great Mosque, to spend the night there.

Mount Arafat:

In the early morning, the faithful converge on Mount Arafat or Jabal al-Rahma, Mount of Mercy, a highlight of the pilgrimage. The stage at Mount Arafat is dedicated to prayers and invocations.

It is on Mount Arafat that the Prophet Muhammad delivered, according to Islamic tradition, his farewell sermon to the Muslims who had accompanied him on the pilgrimage at the end of his life.

Muzdalifah.

Muzdalifah (مُزْدَلِفَة) is an open and flat area near Makkah in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia which is associated with Ḥajj ("pilgrimage"). It is located just southeast of Mina, on the road between Mina and Arafat. The stay in Muzdalifah is preceded by a day in Arafat, consisting of glorifying Allah by repeating the Dua, repenting of Allah, and asking forgiveness. At Arafat, the prayers Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr are performed in a combined and abbreviated form during the time of Zuhr. After sunset, the ninth day of the Islamic month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah, Muslim pilgrims travel to Muzdalifah, sometimes arriving at night due to overcrowding. After arriving in Muzdalifah, pilgrims jointly pray the Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ prayers, while the Isha prayer is shortened to 2 rakats.

Stoning of the Stelae: 

At nightfall, the pilgrims rush back to the Mouzdalifa plain to prepare the next day for Eid al-Adha which consists of sacrificing a beast in memory of Abraham. The latter had almost sacrificed his son Ismail before the angel Gabriel offered him in extremis to sacrifice a sheep in his place, according to tradition.

The faithful then devote themselves to the stoning of the stelae representing Satan at Mina. Seven stones must be thrown the first day on the large stele, and 21 stones the next day or two days later on the three stelae’s (large, medium, small).

Circumvolutions around the Kaaba:

The pilgrimage ends with new convolutions around the Kaaba.